


Not as Single Daddies and Their Bratty Teenage Children

by AllieChick



Series: Ugly Titan Children Au [10]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Domestic, Family Dynamics, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Modern AU, Self-Esteem Issues, awkward dads, awkward teenagers, teenage angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-22
Updated: 2016-08-22
Packaged: 2018-08-10 08:15:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7837186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AllieChick/pseuds/AllieChick
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Levi and Erwin's families have been living together for 10 years. It's a unique situation, but they're a special sort of family. All in all, everyone is better with them all together. </p>
<p>But Eren is finding more and more that he's the problem child. </p>
<p>Sequel to Single Daddies.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not as Single Daddies and Their Bratty Teenage Children

**Author's Note:**

> Well it's been a year, but here's the promised sequel! I hope it was worth the wait.
> 
> This story will focus mainly on Eren as well as his developing relationship with Armin. They have been living in the same house almost like brothers for 10 years at this point, so if that's weird or uncomfortable for you then this isn't the fic for you. 
> 
> There's some awkward teenage sexual discovery, boners, wet dreams, and masturbation. Nothing explicit though. You've been warned.

Eren was screwed.

Well, he was always kinda screwed. But this time he was more screwed than usual. The first parent teacher conference of the year was that night and Eren knew without a doubt that his dad would be going.

His dad was the sort who always read the emails from school because Eren had a habit of either forgetting to tell him about important events or intentionally hiding the information. This was also why Levi went through Eren’s backpack with him after school, to find forgotten or hidden notes from teachers and homework not put away in the proper folder.

His sister Mikasa was always on top of things and had told dad about the parent teacher meeting weeks before. She had no reason to be nervous about it, since her grades were almost always perfect. Eren was sure dad loved to hear that at least one of his two kids was doing well in all their classes.

Even if by some strange happenstance, dad hadn’t already known about parent night through the school email and even if Mikasa hadn’t told him, Levi would still know. Because he, Eren, and Mikasa lived with Erwin and Armin. And Erwin was definitely going to go hear the teachers gush about his sweet boy Armin.

But Armin was a whole other reason that Eren was screwed.

Erwin and Levi always went to parent teacher conferences together. First because it was convenient and second because dad often found himself being frustrated with teachers and parents. Dad had always said he needed Erwin around to help him be civil. Diplomacy was always one of Levi’s weaknesses, but fortunately one of Erwin’s strengths.

Usually it wasn’t Mikasa’s teachers that Levi had disagreements with, but Eren’s.

The reason that his dad was frequently frustrated in general was probably because of Eren, or so he figured. When they were children, both Eren and Mikasa had troublesome personalities. But as Mikasa grew older she also grew out of her behavioral problems. Unfortunately, Eren didn’t. To him, his problems only got worse.

Dad though, was rarely upset with Eren.

No, he usually was frustrated with his teachers.

“You’re not stupid Eren, your brain just works different than most people,” his dad always told him. “I won’t let your teachers treat you like a dumb problem child.”

Unfortunately for Eren, despite what his dad may say, he knew he was a dumb problem child.

“Alright, what should I be prepared for today?” Levi asked as Eren was pulling out his homework. “Which of your teachers is going to give me the most crap?”

Eren sighed. Really all of his teachers would have some words with dad, except his PE teacher. And his band teacher. But those were the only ones.

He wanted to slump over the table and bury his head in the wood. Ninth grade was hard. School had always been a hard for him. There was always an itch to get up and do something and he could never sit still long. He couldn’t focus on the teacher and the lesson for 10 minutes before his mind was wandering off without his permission. But high school was different from middle school. Bigger classes, teachers less willing to coddle, and many more distractions. All those upper classmen who caught Eren’s eye with their well-developed shoulders and handsome faces and-

“My algebra teacher wants to talk to you,” Eren began, his teacher having specifically pulled him aside to tell him she’d like to see one of his parents. “But you probably could have guessed that.”

Levi nodded with a small sigh. He did painstakingly work him through his homework.

“And Madame might have a few words for you,” Eren stated.

“Isn’t Armin helping you with French?” Levi asked, looking up from Eren’s planner.

Yeah and that was part of the problem. Eren didn’t tell dad that though.

“I barely have a grasp on the English language dad,” he replied. “Let alone French.”

Levi looked at him with pursed lips. “Armin’s too nice to you when you study, isn’t he?” Levi asked, knowing his child and friend too well.

Eren blushed. Well, that was true. Too often Eren just had to ask nicely and Armin would more or less spoon feed him answers. Armin didn’t like to see him all frustrated and confused. Then it didn’t help that Armin was in the same class, making it even harder than usual for Eren to pay attention.

“I knew I should’ve made Mikasa help you,” Levi muttered.

“No, Mikasa is terrible at explaining things,” Eren groaned.

Mikasa interjected loudly from the other room, “You just get mad when I don’t tell you the answers.”

Eren turned around in his seat to shout something back, but Levi grabbed hold of his arm to stop him.

“Please Mikasa, we talked about this,” Levi called back.

A quiet ‘sorry, Papa’ replied. Mikasa and Armin knew the routine by now, that Eren and Dad weren’t to be bothered while they were working. Even small noises and movements could derail Eren, particularly when he was doing something as tedious as homework. That was why Levi sat beside him, moving his laptop from the office to the table, to keep his son on task.

When Eren was younger, Levi had to walk him through every problem, correcting him when he was wrong and encouraging him when he was crying from frustration. Now Eren didn’t require as much help so Levi could do some writing alongside him. Still, Levi checked Eren’s work and gave him nudges when his pencil stopped moving for too long.

“Maybe if you and Armin worked on French here at the table instead of your room, you could focus better,” Levi suggested.

“Maybe,” Eren agreed half-heartedly.

Levi continued to assess the amount of homework Eren had. “Should we get started then?”

Eren let out a little sigh and dug around his backpack for his algebra textbook. He always took longest to do his math homework, so dad encouraged him to get it done first. Levi kept an eye on him as Eren turned to the correct page, opened his notebook and wrote down the first problem. Once Eren was writing away, Levi turned his attention to his own work and got typing.

The numbers and letters in Eren’s notebook bore holes in his brain. It was boring and Eren’s head felt tired from having to focus all day at school. He tapped his pencil as he read the problem several times before it finally clicked in his brain. He starting writing, until distracted by the sound of one of the doors down the hallways opening and closing. The noise drew his bored brain away from the paper and he turned his head to see what was going on.

“Eren,” Levi reminded lightly, only glancing at him from his peripheral as he continued to type.

Right. Math.

But Eren’s mind had already forgotten what he’d been doing and he needed to reread the question. He worked through the problem until he had an answer, then double checked it. But the answer didn’t fit right. He let out a loud sigh. He couldn’t see the error in his work.

“Something wrong?” Levi asked.

“Just got the answer wrong and I can’t see why,” Eren replied.

As he reread the question, Eren realized he’d not read it correctly. It was asking him to do something he didn’t understand. Agitatedly, he ran his fingers through his hair before erasing everything he’d done so far.

“Do you need help?” Levi asked patiently, knowing from years of experience of the same afternoon routine.

“I don’t know what to do,” Eren said, pointing to the problem. Eren quickly explained what he’d done and how it wasn’t correct.

“Well, let’s look at your notes,” Levi suggested.

Eren hated when he asked that, because then dad saw his incomplete notes, filled with scribbles and doodles. Then just like most every night, Levi and Eren would read through the textbook chapter together. It was like school, but worse because it was his dad.

And his dad was only so patient.

Don’t get him wrong, Eren was grateful that dad spent so much time trying to help him. But it was so boring it was painful. Like a physical ache that ran deep in his skin and would only be relieved if Eren got up and  _ did  _ something. 

“C’mon Eren,” Levi snapped after they’d been at it for a good 37 minutes. “We’ve been through problems like this half a dozen times already.”

Eren wanted to bang his head on the table. Or rip up his textbook. Or cry. Perhaps all three.

At that point, Levi could detect there were both reaching their limit. He declared they would come back to his algebra later. Instead it was time for Eren’s other despised subject, English. As much as equations and numbers could bore him, sitting down to read stale old novels with overly complicated writing was almost worse.

“Can I at least read on the couch?” Eren asked when Levi told him to get out the assigned book. He was hoping to bank on dad’s guilt for snapping at him earlier.

It was a vain hope.

“Eren,” Levi sighed tiredly, “We go through this every day. Homework at the table. I don’t want to be helping you all night.”

Dejectedly, Eren slumped in his seat and opened  _ Fahrenheit 451 _ . Fortunately it was a short book and the assigned section for the night was blessedly brief. Unfortunately, Eren found it to be boring and hard to follow.  Apparently it was deep or something. And about books.

“Don’t forget to do the worksheet,” Dad reminded. “It’ll be faster if you do it as you go.”

Ah yes. The dreaded worksheet. The thing his English teacher provided that forced Eren to actually pay attention to the words instead of just skimming it over. He hated worksheets.

As painfully as his math homework had gone, Eren slogged through his English, reading until Levi started making dinner. Then Eren could let his mind drift off or be distracted by the sounds of pots and pans without dad breathing down his neck.

And then Erwin came home, which meant the dreaded parent teacher conference loomed even closer.

“I’m home,” Erwin called out as he came in through the door.

“In here,” Levi called back as he continued dinner prep.

Eren started to put away his schoolwork as he heard Armin go and greet his father with a hug. There wasn’t any use in trying to keep working with all the commotion around and dad always let him have a break before dinner.

“Smells good in here,” Erwin commented, like he almost always did, as he came into the kitchen to give Levi a kiss on the cheek. “How was your day?”

“Fine, until you got here,” Levi replied flatly, but Eren saw the way his dad leaned into Erwin’s body and smiled softly.

Only a few people that could make his dad smile like that and Erwin was one of those people. Which made sense, as he’d been dating his dad for as long as Eren could remember. Eren didn’t know why they didn’t just get married. For now, Eren was relieved Erwin wasn’t his other dad. Not to say that Eren didn’t like Erwin, but when it came to grades and homework, he was even stricter than Levi.

“Hey Eren, how’re you?” Erwin asked, turning to him.

“Fine,” Eren replied, messily stuffing his papers back into his bag in a way that he knew his dad hated.

“Reading  _ Fahrenheit 451 _ in English?” Erwin asked, seeing the book on the table. “I loved reading that when I was in school. It’s a good one.”

“Yeah,” Eren replied awkwardly. “It’s… deep.”

That seemed to satisfy Erwin, or he just didn’t feel like torturing Eren with anymore school talk. Instead he directed the conversation to the upcoming football game that weekend and the news of the injured starting running back. That, Eren was happy to humor Erwin with. Animatedly he discussed the latest development, how it would affect the game, and the stats on the second stringer.

In the background, Levi was rolling his eyes at their impassioned conversation, but didn’t say anything. He let his son and boyfriend have their shared interest. There was too much the two of them couldn’t get along with.

“Maybe if this parent-teacher night goes well, we can go to the game Sunday,” Erwin suggested.

Eren perked up brightly at that. “Really?”

“Yeah, a buddy of mine has some tickets to spare and invited me and Armin,” Erwin explained. “But Armin isn’t interested in going.”

“Awesome!” Eren replied excitedly. Going to a game was way better than watching it at home. Levi didn’t let them shout too loud or eat snacks at the couch.

“We’ll see how your grades are tonight,” Erwin added, reminding Eren of his condition.

At that, Eren felt himself deflate a little, but he still remained excited at the possibility.

However Levi gave Erwin a sharp look. “It’s not like Eren can do anything about the state of his grades now,” he said pointedly.

Erwin shrugged, “It’s still an incentive.”

“I don’t know if it’s your place to comment on Eren’s grades and offer incentives,” Levi replied coldly.

The air in the room was quickly becoming tense and Eren got the feeling the conversation didn’t need him anymore.

“Perhaps that’s a discussion we should have later,” Erwin replied calmly.

“Whatever,” Levi answered agitatedly, turning back to his cooking.

Eren didn’t quite understand what had just happened, but he knew dad was annoyed and he didn’t want to stay around much longer. Though he wasn’t the most observant person, even Eren could tell when his dad was upset. He’d been at the receiving end of his dad’s disapproval enough times to know to avoid it when possible.

Instead, Eren vacated to the living room where Mikasa and Armin both sat on the couch, reading their respective books.

“Done with your homework?” Armin asked cheerfully, looking up from his novel as soon as Eren walked in. He was always waiting around for Eren to be finished so they could properly do stuff together.

“Not yet,” Eren replied with a grumble.

Unceremoniously, he dragged his bag with him towards the couch and roughly wedged himself between Armin and Mikasa. His sister sighed irritated and scooted over so Eren’s elbow wasn’t poking her side.

“Just make yourself at home,” she stated flatly.

“I will!” Eren retorted petulantly and smiled at the way Armin laughed. He was always pleased to make Armin laugh.

“Maybe I can help you with your homework while Dad and Levi are gone,” Armin suggested. “And then we can play some video games?”

Eren perked up, “Yeah, that’d be awesome. Thanks Armin!”

The other boy smiled and shrugged to brush it off. “It’s no big deal. You’re always so busy with homework or practice that I would hardly get to hang out with you otherwise.”

“Well, I really like it when you help me,” Eren replied.

“Because he spoon feeds you all the answers,” Mikasa muttered under her breath.

Armin blushed as Eren turned on her. “At least he actually helps me get my stuff done! You just get mad.”

In reply his sister only shrugged indifferently. No point in denying the truth.

The three of them sat in awkward silence, Eren feeling annoyed that his sister tainted the good mood. He didn’t need any extra reminders that he wasn’t a good student, nor did he want Armin to feel bad for helping.

“Mikasa, your dad says it’s your turn for setting the table,” Erwin spoke, peaking a glance around the corner.

She stood up to go do her chore, leaving Eren and Armin alone. Eren still sat close, not scooting over into the freshly available space. 

Having alone time with Armin was both a blessing and a curse. Being close to him, spending hours together made Eren’s chest feel all tight and his stomach filled with butterflies. But afterward Eren was left with an awkward guilty feeling. After he felt more alone than he did  before. Because Armin would never feel the same way as he did. Eren shouldn’t be having such feelings about him in the first place; they were practically brothers. Not in blood or by law, but they had practically been raised together.

That didn’t stop Eren from having feelings for him though. It was probably just another thing to add to the list of why Eren’s brain was messed up.

“Mikasa’s probably right,” Armin spoke tentatively. “If you’re still having problems in French, then you should have someone else help you. Maybe I’m too easy on you.”

Eren turned back to his friend, with big pleading eyes. “Armin, no! Don’t listen to ‘Kasa. She’s just being cranky! I like studying with you.”

“Well clearly I’m not a good tutor,” Armin replied deprecatingly.

“No, it’s not your fault Minnie! You’re a great tutor,” Eren protested. “I’m the one who’s that bad student or whatever.”

“Eren-” Armin admonished.

“You know it’s true!” Eren interrupted. “I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed.”

Armin frowned. “I don’t like it when you talk badly about yourself.”

There was that warm fuzzy feeling spreading through Eren. He couldn’t help but smile a little.

“Well I don’t like it when you talk bad about yourself either,” Eren replied.

“Oh. Okay,” Armin answered, like he hadn’t even realized he had.

“Anyway, back to what I was saying, you’re the funnest study buddy ever,” Eren replied. “So you can’t stop or I’ll die of boredom.”

“Sometimes we have to do things we don’t want to do,” Armin countered.

Eren rolled his eyes and flopped back dramatically. “Ugh, you should just like Erwin.”

“It’s like I’m his son or something,” Armin teased.

Eren ignored the statement and continued. “Everyone wants me to shrivel up from lack of fun.”

Armin gave his leg a little shove. “I think you’re being a little over dramatic.”

With an arm flopped across his face, Eren replied. “I’m never over dramatic.”

“Mmhmm, sure,” Armin replied. Eren could feel the eye roll from where he was.

“Hey, dinner’s ready,” Levi called. “Remember to wash your hands, Eren!”

He sat up and called back, “Why do you never remind everyone else to wash their hands?”

“Because everyone else doesn’t need a reminder. Now hurry up, dinner’s getting cold.”

“It’s always getting cold,” Eren muttered to himself. “Whether I hurry or not.”

Eating dinner together was something Levi always insisted happen. On nights when Eren had practice or Mikasa had judo, they all still had dinner together even if it had to be at 9 in the evening. Levi always wanted to be sure he had at least one conversation with his kids every day.

Most nights Armin and Erwin joined them for dinner, except Fridays which was their private family dinner night. They usually when out to eat on those days, as Erwin didn’t like cooking and it hard to have a private dinner with another family in the house.

Saturdays, of course, were date nights for Erwin and Levi and the kids were left to fend for themselves. Eren usually ate three bowls of cereal for dinner on those days.

“Alright Eren, let’s start with you today,” Levi began once everyone was seated. “How was your day?”

“Boring,” he replied as he filled up his plate.

“Very descriptive,” Levi said. “Care to share more?”

Eren sighed. “It was just a normal day at school. Long and repetitive.”

“Repetition helps you remember,” Levi replied.

“It’s also boring as heck,” Eren muttered under his breath.

Erwin cleaned his throat. “Did you learn anything new?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Eren replied, hating that question. But Erwin always asked it. Eren would rather just complain about teachers or other students.

“And what was the new thing you learned?” Erwin pressed.

Eren sighed loudly. “I learned that I’m shit at multiplying binomials.”

There was a quiet snort from Mikasa and Levi smirked at Erwin’s long suffering expression. Eren couldn’t help but feel a little pleased with himself.

“Eren, no language at the dinner table,” Levi stated with little weight in the words. His lips curled a little in amusement.

“You didn’t learn anything else?” Erwin asked, ever persistent.

Eren replied with a shrug. It was easier than admitting that he hadn’t really paid attention in class. Or that when he had, he didn’t understand. Every night they went through the same routine, but Erwin never let it go. Eren could practically feel the disappointed gaze coming from him. Why couldn’t Erwin understand? Why did he always do this?

Eren’s eyes were glued to his plate and his shoulders were tensing from the rising stress he was feeling. All the attention was on him and his stupidity.

A cough from Levi cut through the tension.

“Do you have any more conditioning this week?” he asked, changing the subject.

“Just after school tomorrow,” Eren replied, eager to have something more positive to talk about. He’d always been successful in any physical activities he tried. “But it should be quick, since it’s the off season.”

“When does lacrosse season start?” Erwin politely inquired.

“We start real practice in February and we start playing in March,” Eren answered automatically. He didn’t give too many details, because everyone else at the table had already heard all about it, with how excited Eren was to play on the high school team. “Coach says I might make varsity, since there aren’t a ton of players. We’ll see how I stack up in February.”

“That’s great, Eren,” Levi answered genuinely. Eren beamed.

“Yes,” Erwin concurred. Next he turned to Armin and continued the routine. “How was your day Min?”

Gratefully, the attention was now off him and he could tune out as Erwin continued to ask about Armin’s day. His son was always happy to go into great detail about what he’d learned and the discussions he’d had in class. Generally speaking, Eren didn’t pay too close attention to the way Erwin was always more engaged and pleased by Armin’s answers. He was his actual son and not just the kid of the guy he lived with.

But it was a little harder to ignore the way Erwin engaged with Mikasa, with much more praise and interest. It was understandable, Eren supposed. She wasn’t intentionally difficult. She could join in with all the smarty talk with Erwin and Armin.

At least Levi always tried to point out the positives in Eren, few and far between though they were.

“Alright, you guys can gush about literature later,” Levi eventually cut in.

The three of them had been discussing that same book Eren had been assigned to read. Eren had nothing interesting to add to the conversation, the meaning and purpose of symbolism going over his head. Perhaps if he tried to pay more attention to these dinnertime discussions, his participation grade in English would be better.

“If I don’t stop you now, you’ll talk through parent teacher conference,” Levi explained over Erwin’s complaint.

Well, that wouldn’t be too bad, would it?

Eren did enjoy watching the way Armin spoke when he was interested in a topic. He couldn’t always follow what he said, but it wasn’t often that Armin spoke with so much energy and confidence.

“Oh, right!” Erwin replied, looking at his watch with surprise. “We better get going then. There are a lot of teachers to see!”

Eren could already feel his stomach sinking. He hoped his dad would still be able to convince Erwin to take him to the football game, even if his grades were shit.

Levi was too busy giving out instructions for cleaning up and missed the last desperate look he gave him before they left. Before Eren could say anything, give one more plea, Erwin was back in the kitchen handing him his coat.

“Work on your homework Eren, please,” Levi instructed as he slipped his arm through the sleeve, half out the door.

“Okay Dad!” Eren replied, sincere and hopeful. By the time he spoke, the door was closing.

That stone in his stomach settled down more.

Always, Levi had been his biggest advocate. Even as Eren had continued to have problems, even as he showed small, incremental progress and disappointed himself, Levi continued to defend him. Surely, Levi would lose his patience one day. Eventually he’d be done coddling Eren.

Everyone else always did.

Perhaps this would be the time. Perhaps with high school, his dad would say ‘this is no longer acceptable’.

A hand gently came down on his arm and startled Eren out of his gloomy thoughts. It was Armin, who sat beside him and gave him a reassuring look.

“It’s going to be alright, Eren,” Armin assured. “You’ve worked really hard this year. You’re doing good in history and science.”

Eren took a deep breath and sighed. “Yeah, but I’m also sucking in every other subject.”

“No one’s good at everything,” Mikasa pointed out. Eren had almost forgotten she was there, cleaning up in the background like Dad had asked.

“That means sooo much coming from you!” Eren replied sarcastically. She literally perfect at everything she tried, which made Eren’s few triumphs pale in comparison.

“I wasn’t trying to-” Mikasa began, but Eren stood up from the table.

“Yeah, whatever,” he snapped and stalked into the living room.

Behind him, he heard the exasperated, “And there he goes to mope,” from Mikasa. Which only made Eren tingle with frustration. He’d show her, he’d mope twice as hard now, he decided as he flopped face first into the couch.

For several minutes the house was quiet, save for the sounds of Mikasa and Armin cleaning up dinner. Eren should’ve been helping, but he was spitefully letting Mikasa pick up the slack. She always did. Levi wouldn’t care and probably wouldn’t know. He just wanted the place cleaned to his standards.

Eventually, the shuffle of feet came into the living room and stopped before the couch. A rustle of fabric settled down near Eren’s head. Still, he didn’t look up. He was busy brooding and would out stubborn whoever wanted his attention.

“Eren,” Armin implored.

And Eren’s resolve broke.

He turned his head to face Armin, who sat on the floor before him. His shoulders were hunched into himself, defensive and small.

“She was only trying to help you feel better,” Armin told him.

“I know,” Eren pouted. “But you have no idea how hard it is having a sister like her when you’re me.”

Armin frowned and nodded sympathetically. “I bet it’s hard. But your dad understands. He doesn’t compare you to her.”

“Well everyone else does,” Eren replied. “But that doesn’t change the fact I’m stupid at anyway and Dad’s going to be stressed and yelling at my teachers again.”

“C’mon, your grades aren’t that bad,” Armin replied with a playful shove to Eren’s arm.

Eren only turned his head back into the couch with defeat. “Yes they are,” he complained, voice comically muffled.

Armin let out a breath before implementing his next strategy. “Well, I was wanting to play video games with you tonight, but I guess you’re not feeling up to it.”

Immediately, Eren’s head lifted, bangs in disarray. “No, wait, I’ll stop moping, I promise!”

Armin smiled at the way his friend was easily distracted. “Let’s finish up your homework real quick.”

“Yes!” Eren concurred, sitting up quickly, reinvigorated with new determination. “Minnie you’re the best, literally the best!”

 

It was a bad sign when Dad and Erwin returned home in complete silence. They walked into Armin, Eren, and Mikasa playing a vigorous game of Mario Kart, but they all quickly quieted at the sound of Levi noisily putting his coat away.

“Levi,” Erwin began.

“Don’t talk to me right now,” Levi answered tiredly. “C’mon Eren, let’s go talk in the kitchen.” He started towards it without checking if Eren followed.

Eren didn’t even complain about the race not being done, he simply put his controller down and followed. As he climbed past him, Armin gave him an encouraging smile. It wasn’t returned.

When Eren entered the room, Levi was already sitting at the table, his fingers pinching at the bridge of his nose, with a stack of papers before him. Quietly, Eren pulled up the chair across from him and waited.

“I’m sorry, Dad,” he muttered, with sincerity.

“I’m not angry with you Eren,” Levi replied, voice strained. “I’m frustrated with the situation, with your teachers, with Erwin, but not with you.”

“Why are you frustrated with Erwin?” Eren asked, surprised.

“It doesn’t matter,” Levi answered quickly, shifting through the papers. “Forget I mentioned it.” 

Eren kept his eyes trained on the place setting before him. He was unwilling to make contact with his father’s gaze. This was what he hated most, knowing he’d disappointed Dad no matter how hard he seemed to try. 

“I’m not angry with you,” Levi repeated. “But I am frustrated.” 

A sheet was placed in front of Eren, his grades from algebra, with several lines highlighted. 

“Those highlighted lines are missing assignments,” Levi explained. “Assignments I know you completed. So why didn’t your teacher receive them?”   

His cheeks felt hot with shame. “Because I, uh, forgot to turn them in, I guess,” Eren answered. 

“You guess?” Levi repeated. “Eren, you went through all the work  of getting the assignment done. Why wouldn’t you turn it in?” 

His shoulders shrugged helplessly. “I get distracted, sometimes when we turn stuff in, I guess.”

With a long exhale, Levi tiredly covered his face with his hands.

“Eren, I love you and I know you’re not as stupid as your teachers think,” he said, dragging his hands down and setting them back to the table. “You just need some help with certain things. I’m willing to help you. But I can only do so much. The rest is up to you. Unless I need to start coming to school with you to make sure you turn in your goddamn assignments.” 

The tell tale stinging in his eyes and trembling lip warned Eren he was close to crying. 

“No, I don’t need you to do that,” Eren replied, voice cracking.

His father sighed again, shuffling through the papers. The silence was deafening. 

“You’re doing well in geography,” Levi stated. “And your physical science teacher says you‘re one of her best students.” 

“Yeah?” Eren replied with a sniffle. He looked up to see his dad giving him a small encouraging smile. 

“Yeah,” he repeated. “She said you’re one of her most engaged students. That you participate and pay attention a majority of the time.” 

“I like science,” Eren shrugged in explanation. 

His dad observed him for a moment. “You’re a smart kid, when you find your groove and focus. We just need to figure out what works for math, english, and french.” 

Feeling less like he was about to burst into tears, Eren nodded. 

“Which brings me to French,” Levi hesitated. “I don’t think having Armin help you is working.” 

Immediately Eren began to protest, “No, he’s doing great.” 

A pointed look from Dad stopped him. “We both know Armin is a distraction.” 

The words made Eren’s stomach drop-- they were too accurate. He cringed at the thought of his dad knowing just how distracting Armin really  _ was _ . 

“You guys are too close for you to meaningfully get work done,” Levi concluded. “So Erwin has offered to tutor you instead.” 

His stomach dropped the rest of the way. 

“Dad, no!” Eren whined, letting his head drop to the table. 

“Listen, I can’t help you with french and Erwin’s practically fluent in everything,” Levi said. “He’s a busy man and it means a lot that he offered.” 

“But Erwin- he’s not-” Eren struggled.  _ He thinks I’m stupid or lazy or both. _ “Erwin doesn’t understand how I work.” 

Levi didn’t argue that point. ”I know it’s not the most,  _ ideal _ , situation. But Erwin’s smart and patient.” 

Eren whined, knowing he couldn't plead his way out of this one. 

“We’re just giving it a try,” Levi attempted to placate him. “If you’re still struggling with french after a few weeks, we can try something else.” 

That didn’t stop Eren’s pouting. 

“It was that or I pay Jean to help you,” Levi said. 

“No!” Eren cried, sitting up, “No, no, you don’t need to do that. It’s not necessary.” 

The image of Jean’s smug face gloating over him about his superiority in a useless language haunted him. Eren would never hear the end of it if his dad hired him. The idea mad his blood boil. No, jean didn’t need to know how badly he sucked at french. 

His dad humphed in amusement at him. “Don’t worry, I know you two would be too busy bickering to actually get any work done.” 

Eren slouched back with relief.

“It’s late,” Levi said, looking at the clock. “We can talk more about this stuff tomorrow.” 

He gestured to the pile of papers before him. Like every parent teacher conference, they would go through each class, looking at what he needed to improve on. It was painful and embarrassing for Eren to rehash his every mistake. 

“But you’re not currently failing anything,” Levi noted. “We need to keep a close eye on a few of your classes though, to be sure you don’t fall behind.” 

Eren nodded, feeling tired and already dreading doing homework the next day. It take twice as long, knowing his Dad. 

“So, can I go to bed now?” 

“Not yet,” he replied, standing up from his seat. “You have to give me a hug first.” 

Obligingly, Eren huffed and stalked over, giving the required amount of annoyance for a son his age upon receiving affection. But his arms wound tight around his dad’s shoulders and his back bent to rest his head in the crook of his neck. The arms wrapped around Eren squeezed in return.

“You’re getting shorter, Dad,” Eren teased, covering the wave of warmth he felt for his father. 

“Hey, just be glad you don’t have my genes,” Levi shot back. He pulled back from his hold and looked Eren in the eye. “I love you, buddy. I know you can do this.” 

Red crept across Eren’s cheeks. “Yeah, yeah. I love you too, Dad,” he replied. He always became embarrassed when his dad used his old nickname. 

“Now get to bed, before you can cause any more trouble,” Levi teased. 

“Yeah, I’ll try,” Eren returned sarcastically. 

 

Armin was waiting for him in the living room, Mikasa and Ewin seemingly having gone to bed. As Eren entered, Armin lowered his book and gave him a careful look. 

“Everything go okay?” he asked tentatively. 

Eren nodded. “Better than I expected, but not great.” He pushed down the small, sharp spasm of excitement he felt, knowing Armin waited up for him. 

“That’s good!” Armin replied, looking visibly relieved. “See, I told you you’re not as stupid as you think.”

The words stuck to Eren, though he didn’t fully believe him. This parent teacher conference had been lucky. The more his dad believed in him, the more afraid he was to fail. He was doing alright, but that was followed by a heavy ‘so far’.

For now though, at least the feeling of dread was gone. 

Until he remembered that Erwin was supposed to help him with his French. 

“What’s bothering you?” Armin asked quietly. 

Perceptive, as he always was. 

“My dad says you can’t tutor me in french anymore, so your dad is gonna help me instead,” Eren explained. 

“Oh,” Armin replied. 

“Yeah, apparently he volunteered,” Eren explained. 

A funny look crossed Armin’s face that Eren couldn’t comprehend. 

“He’s never offered to help me with homework,” he said distantly. 

“Well you should join me, so I don't have  to suffer alone,” Eren said. “I bet he’s strict.”

“Yeah, maybe I will,” Armin replied. 

But he didn’t look thrilled by the idea. Somehow Eren felt it was his fault and he’d said something he shouldn’t have. 

“Well, I’m going to bed now,” Armin declared quietly, getting up from the couch. “Goodnight.” 

“Night,” Eren replied, watching Armin disappear down the hall, wondering what had happened. 

 

As was typical, Eren slept through his morning alarm. Or it went off and he’d silenced it while half asleep. Both were viable options, which was why he was never trusted to wake himself up on time on his own.

Usually Armin came in first and was the most merciful, carefully shaking Eren awake. Eren had learned quickly it was in his best interest to get out of bed after Armin woke him. Mikasa wasn’t as kind and used more unpleasant methods, like cold cups of water. If he still wasn’t up and ready by the time Erwin would take them to school, Levi would drag him out and force him to school in his pjs. 

That had only happened once. 

It was a flawed system, but one Eren relied on.

The only real problem was the possibility of Armin catching sight of Eren’s, uh,  _ nocturnal penile tumescence _ . 

It shouldn’t have been a problem for his best friend and housemate to catch sight of the blankets tenting around his groin in the morning. Embarrassing maybe, but Eren was like many boys his age and couldn’t control his morning wood. Hell, once Eren had seen the horrors of his own father’s morning glory. 

The problem was when Armin merely waking him up increased the boner significantly. 

Every time it happened Eren felt dirty and wrong. This was his best friend. They were practically brothers. If Armin ever noticed that he was the subject of many of Eren’s fantasies, he’d never be able to look at him again. Yet, Eren couldn’t stop it from happening. Couldn’t stop the awkward boners or the wet dreams. 

Which made the fact Eren wanked off to him even worse. Nothing but feelings of red hot shame filled Eren when he was done. Every time he started to jerk off, he tried to picture anyone else. Other men with broad shoulder, washboard abs, guys slim and feminine with soft features and- 

It always ended with Armin. Just Armin blushing at him, holding him close, grasping his hand, kissing him. 

But that would never happen because Eren shouldn’t even feel that way. 

“Eren,” a quiet voice spoke and small hand gripped his shoulder. “Eren wake up.”

Ah, it was Armin. With a grunt, Eren gathered the blankets around him and rolled over, successfully preventing any potential boner sightings.

“C’mon Eren, you need to get up,” Armin instructed, pulling at the covers. “I need your help.”

A long, slow sigh escaped him. “Hmm?”

“I need your advice on what I should wear today.”

The words short circuited in Eren’s brain and he blinked his eyes open wearily. Armin never asked for his help in picking an outfit. Mikasa was more suited for those tasks. On occasion Eren was asked for an opinion and generally his thoughts fell along the lines of ‘looks fine’.

Which was true. Most things looked good on Armin, though he had very specific style sensibilities. Eren didn’t care much about his sense of fashion and simply wore what was comfortable.

“Did Mikasa die or something?” Eren mumbled.

Armin huffed. “I just want your help, okay?”

“Fine,” Eren whined, wriggling under the blankets and yawning. When Armin still waited expectantly he asked, “Uh, can you go so I can put on some pants?”

“I swear, one of these nights there’s going to be an emergency and you’ll regret sleeping naked all the time,” Armin teased.

“I get really sweaty at night, okay?” Eren replied defensively, face heating up.

Armin’s laugh echoed into the hallway as he left the room. 

With him gone, Eren sat up and flung the blankets off himself. Just Armin mentioning nakedness had excited Eren’s dick and he was sporting a stiffie. Quickly he moved to his closet to put something on in case anyone else decided to barge into his room.

“C’mon gotta calm down man,” he muttered to himself, willing his boner to go away.

When his dick didn’t want to cooperate, Eren began thinking of the most repulsive things he could imagine. Like the time he’d come home late and caught his dad swapping spit with Erwin. The memory sent disgusted shivers down his spine. His dad had been straddling Erwin’s lap, making noises Eren never wanted to hear coming from his father.

It did the trick though.

He dressed quickly and went down the hall to Armin’s room. The door had been left open and Eren poked his head in.

“Okay, what’s up?” he asked.

Armin stood in front of his floor length mirror, scrutinizing his appearance carefully. He bit his lip, worrying it between his teeth.

“Do you think this outfit is too… feminine?” Armin asked finally. He didn’t look away from the mirror as he spoke.

“Uh. What?”

Armin turned towards Eren. “Is my outfit girlie?” he asked again.

He wore a large, light blue sweater that was too big for his frame and reached his upper thighs. The sleeves bunched up adorably around his wrists and the wide neckline showed off a bit of collar bone. His legs were clad in tight jeans, showing off their short, slender shape.

Oh god, maybe Eren shouldn’t be checking him out or his little friend might return. Focus on the task at hand.

This outfit was rather boring compared to what Armin usually wore.

He didn’t quite understand what Armin wanted him to say. Armin always had a particular interest in fashion, one that tended toward feminine. Ever since he was a child he dressed a certain way, making some people mistake him for a girl. That didn’t deter Armin’s tastes though. Even when people commented on it, Armin still wore what he wanted. Eren hadn’t thought Armin worried about being too feminine.  

So Eren shrugged. “I don’t think so?”

That didn’t seem to be the answer Armin wanted. His mouth deepened into a frown.

“The sweater is my dad’s. And I decided not to wear leggings or flats with it. So it’s not as girlie as I could make it. But you dress more like a normal guy, so I wanted your opinion.”

“Oh,” Eren replied. He didn’t know why Armin was so adamant. “Well, I think you look nice.”

Armin gave him a small smile. “Thanks,” he replied.

Before Eren left the room, he paused.

“Is everything okay Armin?” he asked.

“Yeah, everything’s fine,” Armin replied. “I just wanted to try something different today.”

“Okay,” Eren replied, not sure if he believed him.

 

School that day was worse than normal. After each class, every teacher wanted to talk to him. It was all the same shit he heard every year from every teacher he’d ever had. 

“Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help your situation.” 

Or 

“After talking with your father, your performance in class makes a more sense.” 

His algebra teacher let him rifle through his backpack and turn in all his old missing assignments. The desk was littered with with crumpled papers and Eren had to sift through it all quickly so he could make it to his next class on time. 

All day he felt self conscious, with attention drawn to him. He preferred cruising by under the radar. A few times in class, teachers called his name and asked him to pay attention when they noticed him drifting off. The eyes of everyone in class fell on him and Eren wanted to crawl under a rock. 

Practice after school was a sweet relief. Conditioning was usually more boring for Eren, but today he was grateful for the chance to get moving. No special attention was given to him. All he had to do was run laps until his muscles were sore. This was what he was good at, letting his mind go and pushing his body to the limits. 

All the pent up frustration was released and Eren left everyone in the dust. 

But then it ended. In only 55 minutes, Eren was showered and waiting for his dad to pick him up. 

Once at home, Levi made him sit down and detail out a plan to help improve his work in each class. By the time they started on his homework, Eren felt like his mind was fraying at the edges. 

It was friday, a day where Eren should be hanging out with his friends and goofing off. Not spending all afternoon and evening meticulously doing homework. Even Armin had popped in to let Levi know he was going to hang out with friends and Armin hardly ever went out. But Eren and Levi worked right up until dinner time. 

At least Erwin and Armin had their father-son night that day, so Eren wouldn’t be expected to work on French. Or so Eren had hoped. 

When dinner time rolled around, Erwin sat at one end of the table like always and Armin was still gone.

“No Armin tonight?” Levi asked, when Erwin came home from work, announcing he’d be joining them for dinner. “He still out with friends?”

“Yes, he’s not going to be back until late,” Erwin explained. “I’ve been stood up.”

“Poor guy,” Levi replied flatly. “You can help Eren with French tonight instead. “

Eren’s stomach dropped. He couldn’t take a few more hours of this.

Erwin turned toward him with a large smile. “We’ll make it fun, won’t we?”

“Uh, sure,” Eren replied, noting that his dad gave him a sympathetic glance.

Erwin had prepared well for the tutoring session. On the table rested a worn French to English dictionary and French grammar book. He’d asked Eren to bring his notes from class, textbook, and current homework assignment.

“I’m excited to help you with this Eren,” he began, with a pleasant smile. “You’re a capable person and I’d like to help you reach your potential.”

Eren wanted to barf. That’s what all teachers said, but they all lost their patience. Or they finally realized how much of an idiot he actually was.

Eren’s fingers drummed out an anxious beat while Erwin glanced through the first unit his textbook. A polite cough from Erwin halted his movements.

“ _ Bonjour, _ ” Erwin said.

“ _ Bonjour, _ ” Eren repeated automatically.

Erwin’s lip twitched at his pronunciation. After making Eren repeat the greeting half a dozen more times, he was satisfied.

“ _ Bien _ ,” Erwin praised. 

Eren wanted to melt to the floor if this was how the whole session was going to go. Frustration was already starting to pent up inside him, and they hadn’t gotten past saying hello. Then Erwin started a long explanation, completely in French and Eren stared at him blankly. He hadn’t understood a single word.

“ _ Comprends? _ ’” Erwin asked, seeing Eren’s lost expression.

_ Do you understand?  _ Eren knew that one. It was one of the first things he’d learned.

“I have no idea what you just said,” Eren replied.

“ _ En francais, _ ” Erwin chided.

“ _ Je  _ have no idea what you said,” Eren answered.

“Eren.” 

He let out a huff and his brows furrowed as he tried to remember how to say it.

“ _ Je... pas comprends, _ ” he tried.

“ _ Je ne comprends pas, _ ” Erwin corrected, waiting until Eren repeated the phrase. “I said I would like to quickly review the material from the first unit, before we get started on the assignment. Having a firm grasp of the basics is important in understanding future material.”

“Are you always going to speak in French when we do this?” Eren asked immediately. Because he could barely focus on the tasks when they were explained to him in English.

Erwin nodded. “Immersion is the best way to learn a new language. You’ll pick it up quicker and it’s good listening comprehension practice. Please try to speak to me in French as much as possible as well.”

A long, low groan escaped Eren. They didn’t even do crap like this in his class at school.

“Just do your best,” Erwin encouraged.

Unfortunately, Eren suspected Erwin’s estimation of his best was far above what was actually his best.

Painstakingly, Erwin quizzed Eren on the vocabulary they’d learned in the first unit. Every time, he gave instructions in French, only clarifying in English if Eren asked correctly in first. Each word and phrase they reviewed, Eren had to repeat until Erwin deemed his pronunciation adequate.

It had been an hour and they hadn’t even gotten to his actual homework assignment yet.

“I don’t know what you’re saying!” Eren burst out in frustration. “I just want to be done!”

“C’mon Eren, you can do it,” Erwin replied in that stupidly cool tone.

He slammed his fists on the table, but Erwin kept looking at him passively.

“You can’t just give up when things start to be hard,” Erwin insisted calmly.

Eren hated that, the assumption that he just gave up without trying. But he was doing all he could and it wasn’t good enough. He let out an aggravated cry and slumped forward, head buried in his arms.

“Eren,” Erwin said, putting a hand on his shoulder, but Eren jerked away from his touch. “I’ll go get your dad then.”

The humiliation piled on top of Eren. His whole face felt hot with embarrassment and frustration. He listened to the distant sounds of his dad talking at the footsteps over to the kitchen. He couldn’t bring himself to lift his head.

“Did you break him?” Levi muttered to Erwin. “Alright Eren, why are you pouting?”

Normally he’d dispute that, but he couldn’t be bothered. He shook his head.

“I’m trying, I’m really trying Dad. Why can’t I do anything right?” Eren cried. Great, now there were tears. He couldn’t even handle some simple French.

“I think you should be done for today,” Levi said to Erwin.

“I’ll leave you to him,” Erwin replied and his steps retreated.

Levi’s steps approached him and a hand started petting his hair. “Why don’t you go sit on the couch and I can make us some tea?’

“Don’t want any,” Eren mumbled.

“No, you need it. Go on.”

Roughly, Eren scrubbed away the tears on his face and trudged to the couch. He flopped into the corner and pulled his legs into himself. What a crappy freaking day. He felt like shit. 

And he’d hardly seen Armin at all.

Several minutes later, Levi returned with two steaming mugs. He gestured at Eren to sit up and plopped down close to Eren. The mug he handed over was steaming and smelled fruity. Eren held it between his hands, absorbing the warmth. Once it cooled down, he took a sip. It was his favorite peach herbal tea, a variety his dad wasn’t fond of. Affection for his dad rushed over him and he slumped against his body. 

“Better?” his dad asked.

“Yeah,” Eren replied, taking a long sip. 

The tea relaxed and warmed him from the inside. Levi brought up a hand and patted his head, letting Eren quietly take comfort from his presence. His eyes started to well up with emotion again at the quiet ways his dad showed he cared. 

They sat together quietly, sipping their tea.

They weren’t interrupted until the sound of the front door opening drew their attention. Looking over the back of the couch, Eren saw Armin coming in.

“Hey Min, where you been all day?” Eren asked, perking up at seeing him. 

Armin fumbled awkwardly at the door, removing his shoes and jacket. 

“Oh, uh. I was with Bertholdt,” Armin replied with a blush.

Huh. Eren knew him. Bertholdt tended to hang around the fringes of their group of friends. He and Armin knew each other better, being in a few of the same advanced classes. 

“Did you have fun?” Levi asked.

“Yeah,” Armin replied quickly, walking towards the hallway to his room. Then he paused. “Actually, uh, we were on a date.”

The blood in Eren’s face drained and he felt his heart plummet.

**Author's Note:**

> This only got done because of my girlfriend Allie, who not so subtly hinted she would like to read the first chapter of the sequel for her birthday. Well, today's her birthday so here you go! Hopefully the next two parts won't take me a year to complete. 
> 
> As always you can find me on tumblr.


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